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The White House believes Iran is preparing an imminent ballistic missile attack on Israel

The White House believes Iran is preparing an imminent ballistic missile attack on Israel



CNN

The White House said on Tuesday that the US believes Iran is preparing an imminent ballistic missile attack on Israel.

“The United States has indications that Iran is preparing to launch an imminent ballistic missile attack against Israel. We are actively supporting defense preparations to defend Israel against this attack. “A direct military attack by Iran against Israel will have serious consequences for Iran,” a senior White House official said in a statement.

The US is prepared to do everything in its power to help Israel intercept anything Iran sends its way, similar to how the US offered to help in April when Iran launched a wave of drones and missiles Israel fired – the vast majority of which were successfully intercepted, a US official said.

The US expects Iran's upcoming attack against Israel could be similar in scope and scale to the one in April, a US official told CNN.

In that attack, Iran launched a wave of drones and missiles at Israel – the vast majority were successfully intercepted.

Shortly after the US statement was released, the Israeli military said it had not yet detected an air threat from Iran.

“At this point, Israel does not recognize any immediate threat from Iran,” Israel Defense Forces spokesman Daniel Hagari said.

In a short video message, Hagari said Israeli military aircraft are currently “scanning the skies” for an imminent threat from Iran.

“We are on high alert both offensively and defensively,” Hagari added, warning Iran that any attack on Israel “would have consequences.”

Tensions between Israel and Iran have escalated significantly in recent weeks as Israel has stepped up its efforts against Lebanon's Hezbollah, an Iran-backed militant group. Israel launched a ground operation in southern Lebanon against Hezbollah on Monday.

The United States is “following events in the Middle East very closely” and “is committed to the defense of Israel,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Tuesday.

“As I said, we are currently monitoring developments very closely,” Blinken said in brief remarks alongside his Moroccan counterpart. Blinken made no specific reference to Iran or the possible attack.

This story is current and will be updated.

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